Transition

A transition says how one scene gives way to the next: CUT TO:, DISSOLVE TO:, FADE OUT. It is written in capitals and set against the right margin, between the last line of one scene and the heading of the next.

Nora switches off the lamp.

CUT TO:

EXT. LAKE - DAWN

Writing one in Calmly Script

Type it on a line of its own, in capitals, and it becomes a transition as you type: a line in capitals that ends in TO: is one as soon as you type the colon. Then Enter↩ starts a scene heading, which is what follows a transition.

A few transitions that do not end in TO: are recognised too, in capitals and with their full stop: FADE OUT., FADE TO BLACK., CUT TO BLACK., SMASH CUT., JUMP CUT., MATCH CUT., TIME CUT., IRIS OUT., WIPE. and THE END. Calmly Script also knows the usual transitions of the language it is set to, such as CORTA A: in Spanish (see Writing in other languages).

Written in lower case the line stays action, and so does a short one without its colon or full stop: CUT TO or FADE OUT is still action until you type the last character.

Any line can be a transition

A transition the app does not recognise is chosen instead: Format › Transition, Ctrl+6⌘6, or TabTab until the line is one. Calmly Script then writes a > in front of the line, dimmed. That is Fountain’s way of saying “this line is a transition” when the words alone do not, and you can type it yourself:

>Back to the lake.

On a transition line with the >, the transitions Calmly Script knows are suggested in grey after two letters, and TabTab accepts one.

A line with a > at the start and a < at the end is not a transition but centered text: see Centered text.

How it prints

A transition prints in capitals, against the right margin of the text, with a blank line above it. The > is not printed.